Delhi HC seeks govt’s response over VoIP breach

NEW DELHI : The Delhi high court on Monday issued notices to the department of telecommunication (DoT) and the finance ministry, besides Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp, seeking their response on a plea alleging that the messaging portals were illegally providing voice-over-internet protocol (VoIP) services, which were only permitted under a telecom licence.

The petition by internet service provider (ISP) World Phone Internet Services Pvt. Ltd (WPISPL) alleged that Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp were providing internet telephony services without a licence.

The petitioner has contended that licensed telecom service providers (TSPs) and ISPs providing internet telephony were subject to regulations and security measures which were to be strictly followed.